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Photography

Cimarron, Kansas

Daydream About Summer With These Color-Drenched Photos of the Great American Fair

Photographer Pamela Littky set off across the United States to discover why these timeless summer festivals have such staying power

Two Antarctic Penguins Took an Adorable ‘Selfie’

They were investigating a camera belonging to an expeditioner with the Australian Antarctic Division

New Research

No, Your Nose Isn’t as Big as That Selfie Makes It Seem

If you take a selfie from just 12 inches away, it may make your nose look 30 percent bigger

The Library of Congress recently digitized this portrait of John Willis Menard, the only known photograph of the African-American trailblazer.

The International Vision of John Willis Menard, First African-American Elected to Congress

Although he was denied his seat in the House, Menard continued his political activism with the goal of uniting people across the Western Hemisphere

The Story Behind Big Sur’s Glowing Waves

Photographer George Krieger captured the unusual scene in vivid detail

Joseph Kayan, a Goroka Show participant from Chimbu Province, wears boar tusks and the tail of a tree kangaroo around his neck. The design of his headdress is specific to his village: it includes bird-of-paradise feathers, with reeds to fill out the shape. His armlets hold sprigs of plants from his region.

Striking Photos of the Past and Present of Papua New Guinea

From tribal traditions to urban strife in the island nation

Clockwise from top left, new illustrations by Ryan Schude, Edel Rodriguez, Tim O'Brien, Melinda Beck.

A 21st-Century Reimagining of Norman Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms”

The iconic paintings helped the U.S. win World War II. What do they mean today?

Single Atom in Ion Trap

Cool Finds

Breathtaking Bubbles, Butterfly Wings, and a Glowing Atom Take Top Prizes in Science Photo Contest

The images celebrate the depth and beauty of the physical sciences

KBO 2012 HZ84 (left) and 2012 HE85 (right)

Cool Finds

New Horizons Snaps Farthest Image Ever Taken From Earth

Drifting 3.79 billion miles from home, the NASA probe took pictures of two Kuiper Belt objects

Founders of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst. The group's motto was "deeds, not words," Marshall writes in his blog.

Cool Finds

Photographs Documenting the Struggle for Women’s Suffrage Are Reimagined in Full Color

Colorizer Tom Marshall’s deft touch brings new life to 100-year-old photographs

Known as Dr. Laser, Jason Sapan has been running the Holographic Studios in NYC since 1979.

Explore the Subterranean Chambers of the World’s Longest-Operating Hologram Gallery

Dr. Laser has been creating holograms inside his NYC laboratory since the 1970s

Staff from nearly every major museum in the world has visited CMA to study how they might incorporate digital.

The Cleveland Museum of Art Wants You To Play With Its Art

The digital-savvy museum is using more than a dozen interactive games to collect data on how visitors digest artwork

Photojournalist Christopher Michel captured this mesmerizing scene just a half mile from the South Pole.

Art Meets Science

How the Antarctic Sun Creates Breathtaking Optical Effects

A fine haze of ice particles transformed this landscape into an otherworldly scene

Earth and Moon seen from 3 million miles away on October 2, 2017.

Asteroid-Sampling Spacecraft Captures Haunting View of Earth in Space

OSIRIS-REx tested its cameras by taking a gorgeous photo of its home planet

Hours after witnessing the first Earthrise, Jim Lovell told mission control: “The Earth from here is a grand oasis in the big vastness of space.”

1968: The Year That Shattered America

Who Took the Legendary Earthrise Photo From Apollo 8?

The mission returned to Earth with one of the most famous images in history

Emerald Bay and Mount Tallac, Lake Tahoe, 1935.

Cool Finds

Cache of Newly Digitized Travel Photographs Will Transport You to 1900s California

Travelers William and Grace McCarthy really got around, and in nearly 3,000 photos, they captured a unique view of San Francisco, Tahoe and Yosemite

Elyse Butler got up close and personal to capture this fiery scene of lava flowing dramatically into the Pacific Ocean from Kilauea volcano.

Smithsonian Magazine’s Most Powerful Photos of the Year

Our photography editors select their favorites from a year full of stunning photojournalism

Conveyor bridges to Bin Structure.

These Photos of the Abandoned Domino Sugar Refinery Document Its Sticky History

A new photography book uncovers the last days (and lasting legacy) of a New York institution

Icy sugar cubes - Overall winner and winner: Earth Science and Climatology

Trending Today

Royal Society Photo Contest Winners Capture Drama and Wonder of the Natural World

From Antarctic ice to eclipses and killer whales, the images unveil nature’s strange and sometimes surreal beauty

The Ten Best Travel Books of 2017

These reads will remedy even the direst cases of wanderlust

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